and even unintelligible to creatures in our circumstances, that it is difficult for the mind, in the first instance, to reconcile itself to the statements of Scripture on the subject. Nevertheless, my brethren, the fact is as indisputable even as that of your own existence, that the Eye" which is as a flame of fire" follows us every where; that it has pursued us into every haunt of sin during every past moment of our lives; that its broad and terrible beam is upon us at this instant; that to the great Judge every secret thought is as visible as the most palpable object of sense to ourselves. What is the effect which the bare enumeration of such truths ought to have upon us? Surely that of awakening us to a spirit of watchfulness, corresponding with the vigilance of the Master we serve, and under whose inspection we live and move.-Suppose this corruptible body dissolved, and yourself translated into the presence of the great God, should you, in your present state, shrink from the scrutiny of that awful Eye; should you call on the rocks and the hills to cover you from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne? Then call upon them now; for that Eye is at this moment searching into the secrets of your soul, and they shall soon be proclaimed to assembled worlds by the trumpet of the archangel. But, rather, let me say to you, Seek mercy before the day of mercy is expired: call upon the Lord for pardon and grace: ask him to wash you in "the Blood which cleanseth from all sin ;" to clothe you in the righteousness of the Redeemer; to sanctify you by the influences of the Spirit; to "take away the heart of stone," and give you "a heart of flesh,"-a heart which can feel and love, and which will prompt you to penitence and faith, and unhesitating and unchanging conformity to the will of God, and to the mind which was in Christ Jesus. There is a Redeemer who is "exalted to give repentance" to the guilty and the miserable, and who can even now " present you spotless" in the presence of the great King. There is an

"Advocate with the Father;" a "Propitiation for the sins of the whole world;" a Saviour who, to snatch you from death, himself died the death of pain and infamy. Apply to him for all the privileges and immunities, and costly and immeasurable blessings, purchased by his own blood; and may you hear a voice from heaven saying to you, "Thy sins are forgiven thee: go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

2. Finally, let me speak to the real servants of God. -To you I would say, If it is a fact which admits of no dispute, that "every hair of the head is numbered," and that the scrutiny even into the most obscure circumstances of our condition is thus minute, must we not believe that every prayer and desire, every secret breathing of the soul for pardon, every faint struggle for advancement, every movement by which the heart presses nearer to the cross of a Saviour, is also known and registered, and treasured up in the memory and affection of the great Father of this fallen world? It is one of our many errors, my Christian brethren, to judge of God by ourselves; to conceive that the same distinctions of great and little which prevail in our own mind must prevail in his; and that, therefore, whilst the collected prayers and anthems of a crowded assembly may possibly find their way to his Mercy-seat, the solitary supplications of a poor Missionary on the dark mountains of idolatry, or of the cottager in his lowly hut, will never reach the throne of compassion and love. But "the hairs of your head are all numbered.” The accents of a single voice find as free an access to God as the voice of thousands. Moses in the ark of bulrushes, Joseph amidst the myriads of Egypt, Elijah and Daniel amidst nations of idolaters, lived as completely in the eye of God as the countless multitudes with whom they were intermingled. And such are your own circumstances, if you are a real servant of God. It is not only that the angels of God behold

SERMON VIII.

THE LOSS OF THE SOUL.

MATT. xvi. 26.

What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

THE disciples of our Lord had long indulged the most unwarranted expectations of the establishment of an earthly kingdom, of which he should be the Sovereign, and themselves the chief authorities and ministers. At length, in a solemn and affecting communication with them, he employed language on the subject which it was scarcely possible to mistake: "He began," it is said, “to show unto his disciples how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day." To this statement he adds, that they themselves, instead of sharing with him in the splendour of an earthly throne, must be satisfied to endure poverty, and hatred, and persecution: "If any man will come after me, let him.... take up his cross and follow me." But then, as though anxious to relieve them from the startling and depressing influence of such intelligence, he proceeds, in the words of the text, to state to them the great rule by which, after all, the comforts and evils of life are to be estimated. "What," he asks, "is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" In other

words, Is not a life of trial which leads to heaven, 'better than a life of splendour and indulgence which ' leads to perdition? What is there in the pleasures of sin, which can be set even for a moment against 'the horrors of eternal condemnation ?'

Such is the general connexion in which the text stands. Its intrinsic importance may well recommend it to our most earnest and deyout consideration. In examining it, my wish is,

I. Briefly to sketch THE CHARACTER OF SOME OF

THOSE WHO MAY BE SAID TO PURSUE THE
PRESENT WORLD AT THE EXPENSE OF THEIR
SOULS.

II. To consider WHAT IS INVOLVED IN THE

LOSS OF THE SOUL.

III. To call your attention to THE FOLLY OF THUS

SACRIFICING THE SOUL TO GAIN THE WORLD.

L. In the first place, it will be my endeavour briefly to sketch THE CHARACTER OF SOME OF THOSE WHO MAY BE SAID TO PURSUE THE PRESENT WORLD AT THE EXPENSE OF THEIR SOULS.

The Apostle St. John, in speaking of the present world as distinguished from the church of God, states, that "all that is in the world is the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life." The persons, therefore, making the sacrifice to which the text refers, may be considered, generally, as those who sacrifice the favour of God, and therefore the welfare of their souls, to the pleasures, the interests, and the honours of the present life. Let us notice each of these cases.

1. Consider, first, the case of those intensely occupied with the pursuit of the pleasures and indulgences of the world. It will readily be admitted, by every candid examiner, that unscriptural notions have sometimes prevailed upon this subject. Some individuals, for instance, have shrunk from the indulgences of friendship, taste, or science, even when pursued and