to the darkened and degraded Gentiles, and having done so, then you may give an offer of mercy to the men at Jerusalem,— first let the banqueting-house be filled with Gentiles; set before them “the rich things of which the atonement was made," and if any poor Jews come, and beg to be admitted to the feast, don't allow them to sit down at the table; permit them merely, like dogs, to eat of the crumbs which fall from the Master's table." No such injunctions were given to the disciples! So merciful and gracious was our blessed Lord, that He said to His disciples,-'Let the men of Jerusalem have the first invitation to the feast; give them the first offer of mercy; go first to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and tell them, that, though they despised and rejected, condemned and crucified Me, their divinely appointed Shepherd, I am willing to be their Shepherd still, willing to welcome them to my fields and folds, to my green pastures and still waters.'

I can imagine the surprise of the disciples on receiving this gracious command, and I can fancy them saying to Christ, 'Master! surely you do not wish us to offer salvation to all the men of Jerusalem ?-to offer mercy to the men who bore false witness against thee, and who insisted on thy condemnation and crucifixion?" "Yes," says Christ, "offer mercy to one and all of them-make no exceptions! Go to the men who arrayed Me in mock royalty, and tell them that if they come to Me, I will array them in robes of linen, clean and white," in "garments of wrought gold." Go to the man who plaited the crown of thorns, and put it upon My head, tell him, that if he come to Me, I will put upon his head a crown of glory which shall never fade away. If you find the man who gave Me gall mingled with vinegar, to drink when My thirst was great, tell him, that if he come to Me, I will give him living water, and that the water which I will give him, shall be in him a well of water, springing up unto eternal life. Assure the man who subjected Me to the scourge, and with it tore My flesh, that if he come to Me, "I will give him My flesh to eat," and that he shall find "My flesh to be meat indeed, and My blood drink indeed." Say to the man who drove the spear to my heart, that I am willing to give him a place in that heart which he pierced, and to fold him to that bosom which he wounded, and that the blood he shed shall atone for the guilt of shedding it. Go even to Pilate, and tell him, that though he condemned Me, despite My innocence, I am not willing to condemn him despite his guilt, that I am willing to forgive and forget the past, to blot out his iniquity,

and to assign him a position of honour and dignity in my kingdom.' Surely Christ's giving His disciples such a gracious commission, was well fitted to confirm their faith in Him, increase their affection for Him, and encourage them to go forth and preach to Jews and Gentiles a full and free salvation. They who limit the offer of mercy, have no warrant from Christ for so doing. Nay! in limiting the offer of mercy, they disobey and dishonour that great and gracious Saviour, who, whilst the hands of His enemies were red with His blood, said to His disciples, "Go and preach repentance and remission of sins in My name, among all nations: beginning at Jerusalem."

Since Christ gave snch a commission to His disciples, we are surely warranted to go to the lowest den of infamy and vice, and say to the most abandoned and depraved, "Christ regards you with feelings of pity and compassion; and if you will turn from your evil ways and wicked works, He will save you with an everlasting salvation: for "the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth from all sin."

But some poor, guilty, anxious sinner, now hearing me, may reply, 'Ah! it is John who says (1 John I. 7) that "the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin." But Christ Himself says something very different, He tells us that there is an unpardonable sin, “a sin which shall never be forgiven." Now it is true that Christ speaks of an unpardonable sin, the sin against the Holy Ghost. I cannot say with certainty what that sin is, for on the subject there is a great diversity of opinion amongst divines; but though I cannot say with certainty what that sin is, yet I can say with certainty that if you have "continual sorrow, and heaviness of heart," through fear that you have committed that unpardonable sin, then you have not committed it; for, had you committed it, you would have neither sorrow nor anxiety in regard to the matter; and therefore, sinner, though your iniquities are more in number than the hairs upon your head, and though they were committed against the clearest light and the strongest convictions, still, you have no cause to despond, far less to despair. If the men of Jerusalem were not too guilty to be pardoned, surely you are not too guilty.

Groaning, bleeding, dying for thee,

The Crucified hung on the accursed tree;
His accents of mercy fell soft on thine ear-

Is there mercy for me? Will He hear my prayer?
O God, in the stream which for sinners doth flow,
Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

IV. Christ commanded His disciples to begin at Jerusalem, that the efficacy of His grace might be manifested.

The men of Jerusalem were thoroughly "dead in trespasses and sins." Their minds were so darkened, their hearts so hardened, their consciences so seared, their wills so stubborn, and their affections so earthly, sensual, and devilish, that the disciples might have said, "It is no use preaching repentance and remission of sin to such men. Christ Himself preached to them: faithfully He warned them of the terrible consequences of sin; earnestly and affectionately He invited and entreated them to come unto Him that they might have life; He even wept over their impenitence and unbelief. But all His exhortations and invitations, all His warnings and weepings, were in vain; it is therefore vain for us to preach to such men; they will not believe our report; our efforts to convince them of sin and convert them unto God are certain to be "labour in vain, and strength spent for nought and in vain." Such thoughts as these, no doubt, passed through the minds of the disciples when Christ commanded them to begin their ministry at Jerusalem. Christ, in giving this special command, designed to make manifest, not merely His willingness to save even the chief of sinners, but also His power to save -to save from the lowest depths of darkness and degradation, guilt and misery. Our blessed Lord came into this world to heal men's souls of the terrible malady of sin; He came as a "Physician," and his name is "Jehovah Rophi," "The Lord that healeth;" and, in order to show His healing power, He made choice of the most desperate cases first. The state of the men of Jerusalem seemed to be utterly hopeless. But it was not so; and to make manifest that He was able to save to the uttermost, Christ said to His disciples, Go and preach my salvation to the men of Jerusalem. The disciples did as they were commanded, Jesus accompanied their preaching with the power of the Holy Ghost, and marvellous were the effects produced,―many proud Pharisees became humble penitents; many who had blasphemed Christ's holy name began to praise and magnify it; many persecutors became preachers of Christianity. Christ, through the instrumen

tality of His word, and the power of the Holy Spirit, quickened and enlightened, convinced and converted, regenerated and sanctified, many of the chief of sinners. And what Christ accomplished in Jerusalem, in the days of His apostles, He is able to accomplish in our day. The Gospel is still "the power of God unto salvation." Let us, therefore, earnestly and unitedly pray that the truths of the Gospel may-through the power of the Spirit -be made instrumental in "turning many from darkness unto light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that thus they may receive forgiveness of sins, and an inheritance among them who are sanctified by faith that is in Jesus." No wonder that the great apostle of the Gentiles was often heard exclaiming, "I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek."

In conclusion, we learn from the subject (1), That it is the duty of professing Christians to manifest the spirit of Christ. If Christ is dwelling in you, you cannot but manifest His spirit, for His life is your life. As the life of the vine is the life of the branches, so the life of Christ is the believer's life. Apart from Christ, we have no experience of the Divine life," the better being, over which death has no power." Such being the case, if, therefore, our Christian profession is sincere, we ought to manifest the spirit of Christ, His spirit of kindness and forgiveness. We are told, that after the soldiers had nailed Christ to the cross, they selected a position for themselves at a little distance from the cross, "and, sitting down, they watched Him there." The soldiers watched Christ, to prevent any attempt being made to take Him down from the cross. As they sat watching Him, they heard Him praying-praying for whom? For His poor, sorrow-stricken disciples? No! He was neither praying for His disciples, nor for Himself; He was praying for His murderers, saying, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." When Christ was about to ascend to heaven, He again made manifest His kindness and forgiveness, for He commanded His disciples to go and preach salvation through His Cross to the men for whose salvation he had earnestly prayed upon the cross. And so, all who profess to be Christ's disciples, are bound to manifest Christ's spirit, His spirit of kindness and forgiveness. I ask you, who profess to be Christians, what is the greatest offence which any of your fellow-men

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may have committed against you, in comparison with the great and grievous offences which you have committed against Christ? If, therefore, you manifest to your enemies a spirit of malice and revenge, instead of a spirit of kindness and forgiveness, then you have not the Spirit of Christ; and if you have not the Spirit of Christ, "you are none of His." I do not think it is morally possible for a servant who has been forgiven a debt of a hundred talents, to go out and seize by the throat a fellow-servant who owes him a hundred pence. "If ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive you your trespasses." Let, therefore, the same forgiving spirit which Christ, our honoured Master, manifested, be manifested by us, His humble servants.

2. We learn from this subject, that it is our duty to spread the Gospel of Christ. The disciples were commanded to "begin at Jerusalem." They were to preach the Gospel to the men of Jerusalem first, and then they were to go and preach the Gospel to every creature-" to all nations, and kindreds, and peoples, and tongues."

The duty incumbent upon the disciples, is no less incumbent upon us. Plato lays it down as a moral maxim, that “man is not born for himself alone, but for his relatives, his friends, his fellow-citizens, his fellow-countrymen, yea, for all mankind." The teaching of Plato on that subject is in harmony with the teaching of Christ. If, by the mercy of God, we have been brought into a state of salvation, it is our duty to seek first the salvation of our relatives, the salvation of those who are near and dear to us; and we are also bound to seek the salvation of our friends and acquaintances, and the salvation of our fellowtownsmen, and fellow-countrymen-nay, we are bound to seek the salvation of all our fellow-men, for "God hath made of one blood all nations of men to dwell on all the face of the earth.” All men are brethren; and Christ's blood was shed for the salvation of all men. If, therefore, we have been made partakers of Christ's salvation, we are bound to make Christ's salvation known to all men. And we have every encouragement to undertake and prosecute this great and glorious work. The ignorance and superstition of the Gentiles may be great, and the pride and the prejudice of the Jews may be equally great; but, through the preaching of the Gospel, they are certain to be overcome, for we have the sure words of prophecy as our encouragement in evangelistic labours-"That all the ends of the world