and prophets coming down to me from the far-off centuries; and what do I hear? "Salvation by the blood of a crucified Jesus." I listen to the voices of apostles and evangelists, speaking to me from the pages of the New Testament; and what do I hear? "Salvation by the blood of a crucified Jesus." I listen to the voices of the confessors and martyrs of the Reformation; and what do I hear? "Salvation by the blood of a crucified Jesus." I listen to the voices of all the pious in our own day, of every denomination, and in every land; and I find them to be in perfect unison, proclaiming, without one discordant note: "Salvation by the blood of a crucified Jesus."

But supposing this were not the case; supposing the differences of doctrinal belief among Christians were as numerous and as broad as you imagine them to be-" what is that to thee?" To your own Master you must stand or fall. The Saviour requires you to follow him, to embrace his Gospel, and fulfill its laws, regardless of what the whole world beside may believe or do. His Word is your only guide. It marks out the path you are to take with such clearness and precision, that only they who willfully shut their eyes can fail to see it. With such light to direct your steps, the uncertainty and confusion of human opinions can furnish you no excuse for indecision and delay. No-amid all the windings of error, the finger of Eternal Truth points ever straight onward to the Cross of Christ; and high above all the Babel-tongues of delusion, crying, "Lo! here, and lo! there"-its voice is heard, saying: "This is the way, walk ye in it." Oh! when you stand at the judgment-seat, and the Bible, which you now neglect, shall follow you there as an accusing witness, think you the plea that you knew not what to believe will avail you? Make not now a defense which you will not dare to make then; but, taking the Book of God into thy hands, with lowly prayer for the Spirit's teaching, examine for thyself, decide for thyself, and thou shalt find rest to thy soul.

IV. The last class which I shall notice justify their indifference to religion, by the alleged inconsistency and unfaithfulness of its professors.

Not seldom is the assumption put forth, that the avowed disciples of Christ differ in nothing from the mass of the ungodly around them; and hence that religion is but a sham, and its votaries, fanatics or hypocrites. To this we reply, that the charge, in the extent in which it is made, is utterly untrue, Doubtless, corrupt members may be found in the Church of God-men whose hearts have never been renewed, and who wear the mask of piety as a screen to the wickedness of their lives. This is to be expected; for in this fallen world no vigilance can guard even the most sacred retreats from the intrusion of the unwort

We

also acknowledge with sadness, that the standard of Chri
practice is no where as elevated as the Gospel demands
many, whose sincerity can not be questioned, often wande
the right way, or follow it with sluggish step; while all a
or less subject to frailty-frailty which they themselves:
est to perceive and confess. Alas! perfect holiness dy
now in our sin-blighted sphere. But, with all these de
we claim that Christians are "the salt of the earth."
not as good as they ought to be, they are incompara
than any body else. In integrity, in deference to com
purity of motive, in uprightness of life, in philanthr
they are raised far above the profane crowd that rep
vilifies them. And this is one of the reasons why
when it does appear among them, is so marked.
ligious, wrong-doing is the rule, and is too common
with the pious, it is the exception, and is on the
more gazed at. No one heeds the smut on a coll
a stain on the white robe of beauty attracts ev

Oh! it is a slander, fabricated by Satan, "tl
brethren," that Christians are not better than
body, they are the best men the world has eve
influence is owing every thing good which h
world. Christians not better than other men
truth and died for it, when all others disow
Who founded our political and religious in
and colleges, and churches, the safeguard
Christians. Who, by their teachings and
sentiment, and create a moral tone in s
would become a den of thieves? Christi
and prisons, and go down into the dark
want, seeking out the wretched, succor
lost? Christians. Who uphold the S
and keep the light of the Gospel bur
Zion, to guide the benighted to safe
Who are carrying that light to pag
fires under the sky of the Equator
Pole? Christians. Who are the
great exodus from barbarism, bo
freedom, and happiness? Again
work that honors God and ble
Christians devise it, Christian
Christians not better than oth
you who never felt the power
ians not better than you! T
if there was no God. The
glory in yours.
ian loves th
dram-sho

er c be of they say. "It pointed." "He ed-too firm to be

oney wey "restrain praysness all who give up wilosophy.

nch speculations, to ask

11 for us to expect ground and

ods, and of

d,

an

wire,

of it,

re rea

>wer for will put ndition of

peculations. s difficulty in oses, with the Lan's prayers. ere is in the same et as in the other. not really see his which he seeks to ize the living Godthey call nature-in o which I have alluded. is not much better to prayers, than not to beetter in its effect upon us,

that kind of speculation, to us that prayer to him is not he many plain declarations to h I now ask you to meditate. its in the Bible theory of prayer onsider

on supposed to offer the prayer. the prayer supposed to be offered.

rayer.

person is comprehensively exhibited righteous"-" a righteous man." We so much upon the necessity of offering e of Christ, and of feeling and confessing ss to be heard in our own name, that there

getting the impression that our own characwith the efficacy of our prayers. The Scripherently from that. We are indeed to offer hough the Mediator, and to know that, being have access to God in no other name. Yet are ember that Christ brings us to God no farther and ho brings us away from our sins-that we have o God no farther than we are made to resemble him. have any influence or efficacy with God, must be the of a righteous person-a person who has the character s described by that term, in the Bible. That it does not e entire sinlessness, is evident from the fact that the Bible hes us that there are no such persons on earth, while it does somo persons righteous. It is properly applicable only to e who have received God's gracious justification, and are thfully and by his grace successfully striving to become holy. It does not mean those who think they have been converted, but are in no way better than before, any more than it means those who are satisfying themselves with their own goodness and disowning their need of Christ's atonement.

Those who have truly submitted themselves to the righteousness of God, who, by faith and repentence, have secured his gracious justification, are new creatures in Christ Jesus, are leading the new life of holiness,

That method of grace by which sinners are reconciled to God, takes effect on their character. He does not give men access to him, and influence with him, in their sins.

"It' I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me," said the Psalmist-and what could more impressively exhibit God's abhorrence of the prayers of those who indulge in wicked practices or what could be a more emphatic rejection of them, than that which is found in the first chapter of the prophecy of Isaiah? "When ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you; yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear your hands are full of blood."

"Wash ye, make you clean: put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow." Ah! my hearers, that is plain language. We can not well mistake its meaning. God will not regard the prayer's of those who live in sin, who indulge in wickedness.

If there are any of you, who have been in the habit of thinking yourselves very orthodox, and very humble Christians, because in your daily prayers you disown all idea of claiming God's favor, on the ground of your merit, and are feeling quite easy in view of your habitual sins, because it is not on the ground of your own deservings that you hope for God's favor, I would

only say to you, read the first chapter of Isaiah, to find out how God regards you, and how utterly worthless are your prayers.

If you are putting into your purse the gains of extortion, or of deceit, or keeping there the wages of unrequited labor; if you have the guilt of unredressed wrong, or of unrepented sin, on your soul, you are in no condition to offer effectual prayer to Him who is "of purer eyes than to behold evil." It is the prayer of a righteous man that avails with him. Understand then, my hearers, that if you wish to offer prevailing prayer, you must look to it that you be such persons whom God will hear. It is not enough to be careful what sort of prayers you offer-you must be careful what sort of persons you are, that offer them. Not enough that all be correct and orthodox in the prayer, nor even that you be very fervent and importunate in offering it. It behooves you to have regard to your habitual state-to your settled and permanent character. And let it be for the encouragement of all them who are humbly endeavoring to lead lives of obedience to God-trying to shape and direct all their conduct by the Bible, "seeking by patient continuance in well-doing, for glory, honor, and immortality"-let it be for the encouragement of all such, that their influence with God, in prayer, shall be in proportion to their success in these efforts to improve their character. God will hear you the more kindly, and answer you the more graciously, the more faithfully you obey him.

II. The character of the prayer itself next claims our consid eration. It is "effectual fervent prayer." The Bible tells us that: "Man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." That which is outward and visible is apt to fix our attention, and indeed our knowledge of that which is internal and unseen is commonly derived only from that which is outward and visible. Hence we "know in part" only. Our knowledge is fragmentary and imperfect. We have a scriptural intimation that in the future world we shall know in a different way, and more perfectly, even as also we are know.” Such direct, absolute, and perfect knowledge has God always, of all subjects. He does not have to infer any thing, nor to conclude any thing by a process of argument. All his knowledge is direct, intuitive, absolute.

In this matter of prayer, we hear a man pray, and if his words are fit, and his manner solemn and earnest, we presume that his affections are warm, that his heart is engaged. But we can know the latter only as an inference from the former. Not so with God. The words, the manner, the look and tones are nothing to him. He sees the heart-directly knows the mind--has immediate observation of the spirit. What kind of prayer then ought we to expect to have influence with him-to be regarded by him-to