self," as God so loving this guilty world as, in "the form of man," to live, to suffer, to die for it; and, having thus contemplated his immeasurable perfections, turn, if you are able, with an eye of complacency to yourself. Look at man fallen, infirm, corrupt, and will you hesitate to say, "Behold, I am vile; I will lay my hand on my mouth"-"I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes?"

6. In the sixth place, the Book of Job instructs us, that patience, springing from a religious principle, from love to God, and a sense of his futherly kindness, is a grace highly acceptable in the sight of God. -Such was the character of Job: "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." Such that of Eli: "It is the Lord; let him do what seemeth him good." Such that of David: "I became dumb, for it was thy doing." Such especially that of Christ, who, suffering the penalties due to a guilty world, exclaimed only, "Not my will, but thine be done." It hath been said, that perfect resignation to the will of God is the last lesson learnt by a Christian. Still the cultivation of this frame of mind is among his primary duties; and it is his highest wisdom. The tenderness of God deserves it, and the trials of life imperiously demand it.

Finally, we are taught, by the Book of Job, that, in all ages, the church of God looked forward, with greater or less degrees of light and confidence, to the final appearance of a Redeemer for the deliverance of the world.-How striking is the exclamation of the Patriarch, "I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth; and though after my skin

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worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall 1 see God; whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another!" It is impossible, from the rareness of such allusions in the Book of Job, and the contemporary writings, to decide with what degree of distinctness the scheme of redemption by the death of the Son of God was revealed to this distinguished servant of God, or to what extent the communication made to Adam, and revived to Abraham, had been lost amidst the shades of surrounding idolatry. But this passage of holy writ will scarcely allow us to doubt that, even then, the eye of the devout servants of God was fixed upon the great Deliverer; that the darkness of accumulated ages could not conceal the Star which was to arise out of Jacob; that the holiest and the wisest men were anticipating salvation, not by any deserts of their own, but by the gra cious interference and advent of their God. But, my brethren, whatever may have been the indistinctness of their knowledge of Christ, these clouds are now dispersed. Was Job but partially instructed in these blessed truths, and yet, did his heart thus expand and exult in the distant contemplation of them? Who, then, of us shall not be ashamed of the coldness of heart with which we too often approach the cross of our Saviour? Who, of us, will fail to oppose to the trials and calamities of life, to a sense of his own weakness, to the impending terrors of a dying bed, this glorious truth, "I know that my Redeemer liveth?" Whose voice shall not be heard in peril and in safety, in the depth of his solitude and in the circle of his friends, in the season of sickness or in the hour of triumph,

"God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ!" In the spirit of this exclamation, strive, my Christian brethren, to live and to die; and our Lord and Saviour shall soon fulfil his own promise. "When I am lifted up, I will draw all men unto me.”—Lord, thou art now lifted" on the cross. Thou hast now ascended to heaven. O draw us to Thyself! Draw us from the paths of doubt, and coldness, and inconsistency; and "make us pillars in the temple of our God;" in that " temple," whence we shall "go no more out, but bear the name of God, and participate in his joys for ever and

ever."

SERMON XV.

THE PENITENT RETURNING TO GOD.

HOSEA xiv. 1-3.

O Israel, return unto the Lord thy God; for thou hast fallen in thine iniquity. Take with you words, and turn to the Lord say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips. Asshur shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods; for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy.

Not only is the obligation to repent universal, but the main features of real repentance are in

variably the same. It is the like corruptions of heart and practice over which the contrite sinner of every age and country has to mourn; it is the same mercy-seat he has to approach; it is the same God to whom he has to be reconciled. In this point of view it has appeared to me that the striking description presented to us in the text, of the tribes of Israel returning, with contrition of heart, to the God whom they had so long and so deeply offended, might assist us in judging of the character of our own penitence, and of the spirit in which we are seeking reconciliation with our offended Father. May that Saviour who is "exalted to give repentance, and remission of sins" to his lost creatures, shed forth his blessing upon us in the pursuit of this inquiry!

It is my intention to consider what is suggested in the text,

I. AS TO THe general CIRCUMSTANCES OF MAN

KIND.

II. AS TO OUR DUTY UNDER THOSE CIRCUMSTAN

CES.

III. AS TO THE ENCOURAGEMENT TO DISCHARGE

THIS DUTY.

I. In the first place, we are to consider what is suggested in the text AS TO THE GENERAL CIRCUM

STANCES OF MANKIND.

The expression in the text, "thou hast fallen,” applies, of course, primarily and directly to the case of the Jews, to whom the Prophet is particularly addressing himself. They had "fallen" in every sense of the word: their vices had been their ruin their city was destroyed, their temple consumed, and they themselves were captives in a strange land. Nor were the physical and outward evils of their condition the worst

to which they were exposed. The work of dedevastation had reached their minds as well as their bodies. Even under the pressure of such tremendous calamities they were hardened and impenitent. Many of them still clung to their sins; and many even addicted themselves to the idolatries of the heathen.

But it is not my intention to consider the case of the Jews exclusively. I wish rather, as has been already stated, to treat the subject generally, and to consider the application of these words," thou hast fallen," to the general circumstances of mankind. Too high a conception is apt to prevail as to our actual condition. Let us endeavour to form a just estimate of our circumstances.

1. Consider for example, in the first place, the state of degradation to which man has fallen.-Survey the first man as he proceeded from the hands of his Maker, "holy, harmless, undefiled;" and then, take a view of the successors to this pure and lofty creature. In some instances of savage life, little seems to be left to distinguish man from the beasts which graze around him; and though, in more civilized countries, refinement and literature veil some of the coarser features of this degradation, how thin is the covering! how often does the obliquity of our nature discover itself! how truly sordid are the feelings, the desires, the tastes of our unconverted hearts! How is each man apt to be swayed by a paramount regard to his own interest! How many are the abject slaves of the basest lusts and passions! How few possess the "testimony of their conscience," that "with simplicity, and godly sincerity, they have had their conversation in the