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riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory."

Thus, have we considered some of the ways in which the sovereignty of God is most clearly and impressively exhibited: Hence,

I. The duty of a thankful acquiescence in all the allotments of providence. The dominion and sovereignty of God must render this a duty in any situation, even with the fewest advantages, and the scantiest enjoyments. But consider how numerous are your grounds for gratitude to God, and for resignation to his will. He is the owner of you and of yours, of your spirits and your bodies, of your time and your talents, and your property. By his appointment you have been born in a land of gospel-light, amidst a free and a civilized people, enjoying the blessings of the British government, and reaping in innumerable advantages the lessons acquired by the experience and sufferings of former generations. You have been trained up in connexion with the church of Christ, having had its ordinances 'regularly administered to you, and its blessings strongly urged on your acceptance. place of being taught to worship the host of heaven, you have been enlightened by the oracles of truth to know that these are but the workmanship of God, and that of him, and to him, and through him, are all things. Instead of being born in Africa or in China, to be left in ignorance of the new and living way of access to God through the Saviour, you have been early made acquainted with the character, the offices, and the work, of the Redeemer, and with the way that

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leads to life everlasting through him. And if these outward means of grace, which you have so richly enjoyed, have been made effectual to your conversion to God, and to your saving interest in all the benefits of the Saviour's purchase, have you not the most ample ground, for all things, and in all circumstances, to give thanks to God through Jesus Christ? All your advantages, whether civil or sacred; all the temporal and spiritual good which you have in possession, are all purely the effect, not of any merit on the score of righteousness, but of free and gratuitous mercy, exercised in sovereignty by that God who will have compassion on whom he will have compassion. "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy and thy truth's sake." By the grace of God we are what we are, and to God, therefore, would we continually ascribe, with all our powers and opportunities, dominion and praise. While we would adore his sovereignty in all his dispensations, we would feel resigned to his will under trials and disappointment, under the loss of our property, the bereavement of friends, and in the hour of personal affliction and of death. "The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away, and blessed be the name of the Lord. It is the Lord, let him do what seemeth good unto him." In mercy he will not afflict us more than we are able to bear, and in all cases our afflictions are less than our iniquities deserve.

II. We learn from this subject the duty of continually asking by prayer and supplications the counsel and direction of the Lord. How fully does the course of the world, and the order of providence shew us, "that the way of man is not in himself, and that it is not in man that walketh to direct his own steps." How impressively may our own experience teach us, " that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom," and that they only have understanding who obey his commandments, and who walk in his ways. How constantly are we, during every moment of the day, and during every moment of our life, depending upon God, and how easily can he by a single event of his providence, by suggesting a thought, by raising up a friend, by awakening good affections in the mind, or by leaving it to the influence of the bad,-how easily can he, and by what a variety of means, affect our temporal, spiritual, and eternal happiness. Let us then feel more sensibly our dependance upon the wisdom, and power, and goodness, of God. Let the young, in particular, be assured that in order to their future happiness, and their real dignity and honour, they must live in the exercise of frequent and of fervent prayer to God, to lead them in the ways of righteousness and of true holiness. Should you be left to your own wisdom, and to preserve what you regard as your interests in a state of separation from God, disappointment, and misery, and everlasting shame and contempt, will be the consequence. "Seek the Lord, then, with your whole heart and soul, and lean not to your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your steps. Delight thyself also in the Lord, and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him, and he shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light,

and thy judgment, as the noon day. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him. Be persuaded, then, continually to look to that Almighty Saviour through whom all guilt and defilement may be for ever removed; who is the way, and the truth, and the life, and through whom alone we can come to the Father.

III. We learn from this subject the aggravated guilt, and the certain misery, of impenitent and unbelieving sinners. All sin is a rebellion against the dominion and the sovereignty of God. Ever since it entered into our world, there has been war carrying on against the authority, the laws, and the government of God. It was because they had returned to their allegiance, and were resolved to adhere faithfully to his government, that the servants of God, redeemed from among men, " have had trials of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover, of bonds and imprisonThey were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword; they wandered about in sheep-skins and goat-skins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented. Of whom the world was not worthy; they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens, and in caves of the earth." This contest between God and fallen man and fallen spirits, is at present advancing under the direction of the Captain of salvation; and he will vindicate the honour and the dominion of God, in the punishment and everlasting overthrow of his enemies.

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CHAPTER X.

THE HOLINESS AND JUSTICE OF GOD.

THE holiness of God is the absolute purity of his nature, the essential and infinite rectitude of his will. It is a fulness of moral excellency inseparable from his essence, or from the exercise of any of his attributes. It is that which removes all evil to an unapproachable distance from the Divinity, and which renders it impossible for him to look upon iniquity. "God is light, and with him is no darkness at all. The righteous Lord loveth righteousness; and hath no pleasure in wickedness."

Holiness, as the highest perfection, and as the glory of his nature, must necessarily belong to God. He is as necessarily pure and righteous as he is necessarily God. He is holy and just, not merely because he wills it, but he wills it because holiness and justice are essential to his nature. Compared with his, the purity of all created beings is dim and imperfect; for there is none holy as the Lord; the heavens are not pure in his sight, and his angels he charges with folly. They are limited and mutable in their nature and faculties, and are, therefore, liable to sin; but God is unchangeable as well as glorious in his holiness, and can never have its spotless brightness overshadowed. Hence the delight with which He beholds holiness, whether in himself or in his creatures, and the abhorrence with which he views

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